Reuben Kemper (February 21, 1771 – January 29, 1827) was an American pioneer and

filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking out ...

Kemper and West Florida

Born in

Fauquier County, Virginia Fauquier is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 72,972. The county seat is Warrenton. Fauquier County is in Northern Virginia and is a part of the Washington metropolitan area. History In 16 ...

, Kemper and his brothers Nathan and

Samuel Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bibl ...

settled in Feliciana Parish, near

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...

Spanish West Florida Spanish West Florida (Spanish: ''Florida Occidental'') was a province of the Spanish Empire from 1783 until 1821, when both it and East Florida were ceded to the United States. The region of West Florida initially had the same borders as the ers ...

, shortly after 1800. Expelled from the province by the Spanish authorities in a dispute over land titles, the Kemper brothers organized a small force in the

Mississippi Territory The Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 7, 1798, until December 10, 1817, when the western half of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Mississippi. T ...

and returned, declaring West Florida to be independent. They attempted to capture

in 1804, but were defeated, having failed to gain the support of local Anglo-American settlers. Most of the latter were satisfied with Spanish rule on account of Spain's liberal

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

s and its protection of

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. The following year Spanish forces captured all three brothers while they were on U.S. soil, but American forces rescued them as they were being taken down the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. In 1810, during the rebellion against

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

rule by British and

Anglo-American Anglo-Americans are people who are English-speaking inhabitants of Anglo-America. It typically refers to the nations and ethnic groups in the Americas that speak English as a native language, making up the majority of people in the world who spe ...

settlers (who comprised the majority of inhabitants), Reuben Kemper and Joseph White were authorized to invite the inhabitants of

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...

and

Pensacola Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...

to join in the revolt. When Kemper crossed into the Mississippi Territory, U.S. forces arrested him, as they did not wish to provoke Spain into war and feared Kemper's intentions. He was more fortunate than his colleagues, who were seized by the Spanish authorities and sent as prisoners to El Morro, in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, Cuba. But the rebellion spread and the

Republic of West Florida The Republic of West Florida ( es, República de Florida Occidental, french: République de Floride occidentale), officially the State of Florida, was a short-lived republic in the western region of Spanish West Florida for just over months du ...

declared independence from Spain. 78 days later, it was annexed by the United States.

Later years

In 1812-13, Kemper took part in the

Gutiérrez–Magee Expedition The Gutiérrez–Magee Expedition was an 1812–1813 joint filibustering expedition by Mexico and the United States against Spanish Texas during the early years of the Mexican War of Independence. Background In 1810, Father Miguel Hidalgo y Cos ...

into

Spanish Texas Spanish Texas was one of the interior provinces of the colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1690 until 1821. The term "interior provinces" first appeared in 1712, as an expression meaning "far away" provinces. It was only in 1776 that a lega ...

, fighting to help free Mexico from Spanish rule. He also served as a colonel under

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

at the

Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815 between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the French ...

in January 1815. Kemper settled down peacefully as a planter in

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. He died in 1827 in

Natchez, Mississippi Natchez ( ) is the county seat of and only city in Adams County, Mississippi, United States. Natchez has a total population of 14,520 (as of the 2020 census). Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, N ...

, aged 55 or 56.

Legacy

Reuben Kemper is the namesake of

Kemper County, Mississippi Kemper County is a county located on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,456. Its county seat is De Kalb. The county is named in honor of Reuben Kemper. The county is pa ...

Notes and references

*David A. Bice, ''The Original Lone Star Republic: Scoundrels, Statesmen and Schemers of the 1810 West Florida Rebellion'', Heritage Publishing Consultants, 2004. *Andrew McMichael, "The Kemper 'Rebellion': Filibustering and Resident Anglo American Loyalty in Spanish West Florida", ''Louisiana History'', vol. 43, no. 2 (Spring 2002), p. 133-165. *Andrew McMichael, ''Atlantic Loyalties: Americans in Spanish West Florida, 1785-1810'', University of Georgia Press, 2008.

External links

Reuben Kemper
article at AllRefer.com.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kemper, Reuben American pioneers People from Fauquier County, Virginia People from Natchez, Mississippi 1770 births 1826 deaths American filibusters (military)

Kemper and West Florida

Later years

Legacy

See also

Notes and references

External links